Mortality Resulting from Undesirable Behaviours in Dogs Aged Three Years and under Attending Primary-Care Veterinary Practices in Australia

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that undesirable behaviours (UBs) in dogs can compromise the welfare of both canine companions and their carers. Veterinarians are regularly consulted about affected animals and may be asked to euthanase the more severely affected individuals. A recent study of veterinary records showed that UBs were the predominant cause of mortality in young dogs in the UK. This companion study from Australia reports the proportion of mortality due to UBs among dogs aged three years and under that attended veterinary practices from 2013 to 2018. Deidentified patient records were extracted from the VetCompass Australia database and manually assessed to reveal the prevalence and type of UBs reported. The results reveal that 29.7% of the 4341 dogs that died at three years of age or under had deaths ascribed to at least one UB, and that the most commonly reported UB was aggression. Neutered dogs had 2.5× the odds of death due to an UB compared to intact dogs, and crossbred dogs were found to have 1.43× the odds of a UB related death compared to purebred dogs. The breeds at highest risk were Australian cattle dogs (odds ratio (OR) 4.77) and American Staffordshire terriers (OR 4.69). The attending veterinarian referred behaviour cases to a behaviourist or dog trainer in 11.0% of all UB cases, and attempted pharmacological therapy in 5.9% of cases. The results reveal how often UBs affect dogs and their owners in Australia, and infer the beneficial impact that educating dog owners and veterinary professionals in modifying and managing UBs may have.

Veterinary drug therapies used for undesirable behaviours in UK dogs under primary veterinary care

“…As aggression is an UB that can be highly hazardous to humans [ 64 ], it may have led to some dogs being euthanased or relinquished before drug therapy could be trialled. This is supported by previous epidemiological studies of causes of mortality in dogs aged three years and under, which revealed that 33.7% of dogs in the UK [ 11 ] and 29.7% in Australia [ 25 ] had UBs, with the most common UB reported as a cause of death being aggression (54% in England and 52.5% in Australia). Furthermore, within these studies, pharmaceutical, pheromone or nutraceutical treatments for aggression were attempted in just 3% of the UK sample [ 11 ] and 5.9% of the Australian sample [ 25 ].…”

“…One study reported that 33.7% of dogs died as a result of an UB (including road traffic accidents (RTAs), as RTAs may result from poor recall, limited traffic training or straying) [ 11 ], where another study reported 14.7% of deaths ascribed to behavioural abnormality and a further 12.7% ascribed to RTAs (a combined total of 27.4%) [ 24 ]. Comparable findings using a similar study design have recently emerged from Australia (29.7%) [ 25 ].…”

“…It is also possible that first opinion veterinarians may have felt comfortable prescribing UB drug therapy for those UB cases they felt competent to handle (such as a noise phobia) but may have escalated others to a specialist (or in extreme cases, such as aggression, euthanise) without the use of UB drug therapy. However, two previous VetCompass™ studies found only 10.3% [ 11 ] and 11.0% [ 25 ] of dogs under 3 years who died due to an UB were recommended a referral before their death in the UK and Australia, respectively. The current study also found an UB was reported to contribute to euthanasia in 31/64 (48.4%) dogs and only 1/31 of these dogs (0.03%) was referred to a veterinary behaviourist before euthanasia.…”

Pandemic Puppies: Demographic Characteristics, Health and Early Life Experiences of Puppies Acquired during the 2020 Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK

“…Prior to the pandemic, SRBs had been reported to affect up to 50% of dogs in the UK [ 13 ] but this may even be an underestimate as, by definition, SRBs are demonstrated during the owner’s absence and therefore may not be noticed by the owner. In summary, the early-life experiences of Pandemic Puppies could put this cohort at greater risk of future behavioural issues, which may in turn increase their risk of later relinquishment or euthanasia, given that undesirable behaviours are one of the main drivers for relinquishment [ 14 ] and euthanasia of dogs under the age of three years [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Relinquishing Owners Underestimate Their Dog's Behavioral Problems: Deception or Lack of Knowledge?

“…Canine behavior problems can often be indicative of a poor welfare state (4,5) and lead to an increased risk of euthanasia. Undesirable behavior is the leading cause of mortality among privately owned dogs under the age of 3 years (6,7). Problem behaviors have also been associated with reduced owner attachment and satisfaction (8)(9)(10)(11) which may threaten the human-animal bond and place the dog at increased risk of relinquishment as behavioral issues are a leading cause of canine relinquishment worldwide (12)(13)(14).…”